Bone grafting is a surgical procedure that deals with various methods of restoring foundation in order to place a dental implant or to reconstruct a deficiency in the bone.
For dental implants to be successful, the jawbone must have enough bone to support them. You may not have enough bone because of tooth loss from periodontal (gum) disease, injury or trauma, or a developmental defect. If your jaw is too short, too narrow, or both, you will need a procedure to add bone to your jaw before implants can be placed.
Bone grafting is possible because bone tissue, unlike most other tissues, has the ability to regenerate completely, if provided the space in which to grow. As native bone grows, it will generally replace the graft material completely, resulting in a fully integrated region of new bone.